Wells Williams to His Imperial Highness Prince Kung, Chief, May 28, 1868

Mr. Williams to Prince Kung

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge your imperial highness’s dispatch of the 22d instant, in which you inform me that in consequence of mistakes having been made by the foreign merchants, who inferred that the new regulation fixing the duty on tea-dust at 1t. 2m. 5c. per pecul applies also to tea leaf whose cost did not exceed 15 taels per pecul, you had decided, in order to protect the revenue, to adopt the suggestion of the inspector general of customs, limiting the reduced duty of 1t. 2m. 5c. per pecul on tea-dust to all that, whenever exported, whose cost did not exceed 10 taels per pecul; while all above that price should pay the former duty of 2t. 5m. per pecul, &c.

The articles of tea leaf and tea-dust are no doubt very different, and as I now learn from your imperial highness’s dispatch that the foreign merchants have erroneously supposed that the cheaper kinds of the former were included under the new regulation, you have deemed it best, in order to prevent mistakes, to limit the reduced duty of 1t. 2m. 5c. to those kinds of tea-dust whose cost does not exceed 10 taels, which modification shall accordingly be made known to American merchants at the various ports.

I have the honor to be, sir, your imperial highness’s obedient servant,